With the run up to the new 58 plate month of September now underway with finance offers, price cuts and lots of any incentives-to-buy the hard pressed UK car industry can think of, new and revised models are now appearing in car showrooms.

One of the more distinctive family transport ranges now in the showrooms is the Dodge Journey, described by Chrysler UK as having the practicality of an MPV but doesn’t look like a conventional ‘people carrier’.

The front-wheel drive, five-door, Journey has a three-row, five + two seating layout  but in style it looks a crossover between a high off the ground 4x4 SUV and roomy D-segment estate car, similar in length to a Ford Mondeo estate.

True to its all-American roots the Journey, like all Dodge models, has hard-line angular styling, muscular wheelarches, the distinctive upright front grille and overall portrays a brash in your face image. Journey prices start at £16,995 and rise to £22,995.

It is the Dodge brand image, together with high specification and competitive pricing, which has seen their sales rise by 60 per cent in the UK for the first seven months of this year to 2,643 units, most of them to retail customers.

The fledgling brand, consisting of the SUV style Caliber, the Avenger family-sized saloon and the Nitro 4x4, has only been in existence in the UK for less than two years and partners the Chrysler and Jeep brands,

In fact the growth of the Dodge brand has helped balance the books for Chrysler UK. Due to falling new vehicle sales and the public’s move away from large SUVs and fuel hungry cars, the Chrysler brand sales in this country have fallen by 16.4% and Jeep by 17.5%, but add in the additional Dodge sales and overall Chrysler UK is suffering a 5% reduction in registrations whilst the overall new car market is down by 3%.

Steve Mirfin, Product Manager for Chrysler UK said this week at the media launch for the Journey range, “The vehicle is aimed at young families who need an MPV but don’t actually want to drive one.  For people who want a vehicle which reflects their own identity the Dodge Journey is the answer.” 

He added that the distinctive Dodge styling, trendy and fun image, value for money comprehensive specification, clever seating combinations, useful underfloor storage compartments and crossover SUV and estate car looks answer many young families’ practical needs for an MPV type of vehicle, but without it looking like one.

Mirfin said that Dodge expected to sell around 500 Journey units in the UK this year and 98% of them would be the 2.0-litre CRD diesel model as opposed to the 2.4-litre petrol engine option, 40% would choose the new Getrag twin-clutch automatic transmission option and the middle of the range SXT specification should be the most popular.

At this stage in the rationalization process of the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep model line-ups Chrysler UK were unwilling to confirm the number of UK Journey sales for a full year until new Managing Director Federico Goretti has officially announced the revised sales targets to the UK dealer network in September. Under the initial model rationalization programme the Dodge Journey replaces the Chrysler Voyager in the combined brands’ line-up.

MPV registrations in the UK is one of only three sectors that has shown a growth so far this year, city cars and executive models being the other two. MPV sales have increased by 10% so far this year. The growth in the sector has come from fuel efficient, clever seating smaller and mid-sized models whilst the older and much larger people-carriers have dropped in popularity.

Mirfin added that the Journey would compete against MPVs such as the VW Sharan, Ford S-Max, Vauxhall Zafira, Citroen Grand C4 Picasso, Renault Grand Scenic and the Peugeot 807.

He said, “When compared with these models, with the price adjustment for specification taken into account, the Journey 2.0 CRD SXT Auto for instance priced at £21,195 was between 7.5 and 20% lower for the on-the-road price.”

The all-new Dodge Journey is portrayed as a vehicle having the seven-seat capability of an MPV but with the looks of large high off the ground estate car or soft off-roader even though it is only two wheel drive. 

Priced from £16,995 the all-American muscular styled Journey is aimed at younger families where interior space plays a lesser role but image, specification and price are important. Size might be an issue for parking, it’s 4,888mm long.

Aptly timed for the ‘58’ plate September new registration month, the Journey with five + two seating combinations in three rows has arrived and is available with the choice of two engines and SE, SXT and R/T trim and equipment levels with SXT being the most popular. 

A  2.4-litre, four-cylinder, variable valve timing, 168bhp petrol engine coupled to a five-speed manual transmission Dodge says  will attract only 2% of customers but admits that low mileage owners attracted by the lower purchase price and lower cost of petrol fuel over diesel could increase their sales forecast for this model. The combined fuel cycle economy is 32.1mpg with CO2 emissions of 209g/km giving it a road tax bill of £210.

The second engine in the line-up which Dodge says will account for 98% of sales is a Volkswagen sourced 2.0-litre turbodiesel 138bhp unit with 310NM of torque from 1,750rpm.

This engine is available with the option of a six-speed manual or six-speed, twin-clutch automatic transmission.

Around 60% of customers are expected to opt for the manual gearbox and these models are quoted as achieving 43.5mpg with CO2 emissions of 171g/km which put them in Band E for road tax costing £170.

Value for money high level of specification and versatile seating combinations are important reasons to consider the Journey as funky and fun family transport. As with all Dodge models specification is high.  

All versions have three-zone air conditioning, six-speaker sound system, electric windows, anti-lock braking, electronic stability and traction control, trailer sway control, front, front seat and side curtain airbags, child seat fittings and remote central locking with a security alarm.

SE models have steel wheels, all other models have 17 or 19-inch alloys. SXT and R/T variants see the specification levels rise still further and some of the added goodies include a power operated driver’s seat, a more comprehensive instrument display plus on-board information computer, fog-lights and stain and odour repellent seat fabric. 

Extra cost options include an excellent MyGig multimedia infotainment system with 3D satellite navigation, Bluetooth connectivity and rear view camera. This costs an extra £1,500 or £2,000 with the added rear seat video entertainment unit.

The three rows of seats and their slide and fold combinations are very clever and in the main easy to use. The added underfloor, or under seat squab, lined storage boxes are well thought out and the cooler section in the glovebox for drinks is very useful. 

With the middle and rear rows of seats folded down there is a long flat load floor and this can be extended further by folding the front passenger seat back down.

 In many ways the versatile seating is a prime reason for buying the Journey, that and its non-conventional MPV styling.  A word of warning, the middle row of seats is not really wide enough for three adults.  

With all three rows of seats in use the luggage space is pretty limited at 302-litres but the under floor/seat storage bins help that situation. With the middle and rear rows of seats folded down the load area is a huge 1,914-litres but the hard plastic covered rear wheel arches intrude significantly into the load space.

The quality of materials, the design of the dashboard and the build quality is probably the best we have seen from Dodge so far but the feel of the materials and the overall look isn’t as yet up to the standards set by European, Japanese or indeed the Korean brands.

As for performance and driveability? Again the Journey is outclassed by many of its competitors but by a lesser amount that other models in the Dodge range. The engine we know we’ll from VW, it’s noisy at times but it’s strong, responsive and relatively fuel efficient given the size of vehicle it is powering. 

My 2.0-litre CRD SXT turbodiesel test car with a 6-speed manual transmission returned 33.2mpg during the first UK test drive of all types of roads and traffic conditions. Unfortunately there were no 2.4-litre petrol or twin-clutch automatic models available for testing at this week’s media launch.

When it comes to handling and ride comfort, the handling is definitely ‘old-school’, lots of rock and roll, not very precise steering which lacked any feedback and not as good to drive as most others in this sector. The suspension generally coped pretty well with our poor UK road surfaces but was on the soft side causing the car to wallow and roll on undulating and twisty roads.

Overall an interesting model range, one to be considered and with looks that are definitely not copies of other family people movers. The mainstream Journey models do not have a significant pricing edge over the competition despite what Dodge showed us for their top of the range model. My 2.0 CRD SXT manual test car weighed in at £19,995 plus £2,000 of extras and for that money you are into Ford S-Max and Citroen Grand C4 Picasso territory.